May 5
VAP or Instructor of Archaeology Candidate Talk, "Changing the Channel: How the Ancient Maya Shaped their Landscapes to Control Trade, Warfare, and Hydrology"
Tue, May 5, 2026
• 12:00pm
- 1:00pm (1h) • LDC 104
Join the Archaeology Program for a VAP or Instructor of Archaeology candidate talk titled, "Changing the Channel: How the Ancient Maya Shaped their Landscapes to Control Trade, Warfare, and Hydrology" on Tuesday, May 5th at noon in LDC 104. Pizza and sparkling water will be provided by the Archaeology Program.
Abstract: The Maya of the Late Preclassic period (300BC to AD200) were skilled and active engineers of the terrain on which they lived. Their labor investment in temples, fortifications, hydraulic architecture, and land- and water-based food production systems domesticated the landscape, reshaping it to serve their needs. Construction of these features operated according to existing social relations that were immediately recast and reinforced by the shared effort. Maintenance and ongoing use of the features would then mediate shifting social dynamics across generations. Work in the Peten Lakes Region of northern Guatemala to document these constructions and investigate their specific functions and histories of use has provided insight into their social roles. The results shed new light on the dynamics of Preclassic warfare and aquaculture, with implications for early urbanism and its relation to the spread of socioeconomic complexity.
from Archaeology
Event Contact: Christine Hamp